How “Small” Is Your Small Business?

According to a recent SBA press release, there is a proposal to revise the definition of small businesses. This redefinition of how “small” a business is, is in accordance with the Small Business Act. The establishment of size standards has two considerations.

how small is your small business

The first one is that it should have variance depending on industries to account for the differences between them and the second is that the policies set forth by the Small Business Administration should be for further help to small business concerns by encouraging them and reinforcing competitiveness. Small business concerns are defined by the Small Business Act as one that “is independently owned and operated which is not dominant in its field of operation”.…

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6 Tips For Making Sure Your Small Business Succeeds

tips for small business success

Starting a new business is an exhilarating experience. It’s like going out on a first date. Your toes get all tingly, you try to dream of every mishap that could happen and you try your hardest to make it work. And like dating, it’s possible that it could have disastrous results.

In fact, according to the SBA, “two-thirds of new employer establishments survive at least two years, and 44 percent survive at least four years.” For a newbie in the business industry, it might cause you to rethink and falter but in reality, awareness and a definite action plan may just be the key for your venture to succeed.…

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25 Million Small Businesses May Have Zero Employees, But They Contribute to Our Economy

In a recent interview on Barbara Weltman’s “Build Your Business” Radio Show, Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends shared some interesting statistics about small businesses.

She mentioned that roughly 79% of US companies have no employees. Yet, these same businesses, over 25 million, provide full or part time employment for their owners.   So, why does “everyone insist that these types of small businesses don’t contribute to jobs?”   Campbell says that they should be counted. After all, that’s 25 million people NOT in the unemployment line.

25 million small businesses have zero employees

She adds that jobs aren’t everything-when measuring the impact of the smallest, small businesses.   Regardless of what you think of their impact, single employee companies contribute to our economy as they buy products and purchase services.  …

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5 Ways To Use Twitter Strategically For Your Business

using twitter for your small businessWhen using social media tools like Twitter to promote your business, it’s important to use them strategically so that you’re not wasting your time.

To take advantage of the below tips, I generally recommend using a 3rd party application such as Seesmic, Hootsuite or Tweetdeck since they offer column based layouts which typically makes it easier to navigate, in addition to features such as scheduling tweets.

1) Use Lists to Keep Track of People That Are Important to Your Mission

If you’re following a lot of people, it can be hard to keep track of who’s who and to make sure you see updates from the people that count.…

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What Every Entrepreneur Should Know About Small Business Credit Cards

Any business owner can tell you that while getting a business started is difficult enough, it’s only the beginning of the battle. When it comes to keeping a business running, you’ll need to continue buying supplies and covering many other expenses that are associated with business operations.

credit cards for small businesses

Many business owners choose to cover these expenses through the use of small business credit cards. Still, other business owners are hesitant to get a credit card for their companies for a number of reasons. Let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of small business credit cards and you can easily determine whether or not one is right for your business.…

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5 Tools For Testing Your Website For Mobile Compatibility

mobile website testing toolsOn my previous post, I had discussed about some tips on building a mobile business website. Inspired by a comment from Martin Lindeskog, I have decided to share with you, my dear readers, some tips on how to test whether your mobile viewers are getting optimum viewing capacity on their mobile browsers.

That said, I have scoured the net for a cornucopia of sites which can be useful to test mobile compatibility of your site.

Here are some mobile browser compatibility-testing sites:

1.   mobiReady – This site is fairly easy to navigate and the best part is, it’s free.…

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Five Surprising Health Insurance Tax Tips For Small Business Owners and The Self Employed

health insurance tax tips

Whether you’re self employed or a small business owner, preparing your taxes can be a daunting task – scrambling to find every little deduction within “hidden” tax codes to make the most of your return. And with Health Reform underway, there are new laws in effect that may translate into a bigger refund check.

Here are five health insurance-related tax tips to consider before you file your taxes this year:

1.   New this year! Take a one-time opportunity to reduce your self-employment taxes – In addition to the standard “˜above the line’ deduction described below, self-employed persons can also deduct the cost of their health insurance premiums from their self-employment taxes on Schedule SE.…

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How To Deal With Unhappy Customers

dealing with unhappy customersFor a new small business owner who is seeking to grow his or her business, brand reputation is an important consideration to keep in mind, which is why any negative press about the business can be detrimental to its success. All it takes is one unhappy client or associate, the lightning-fast pace of the internet, and a negative blog post to derail even the best laid plans.

If you follow publishing at all, you might have seen this example in the fall of Cooks Source Magazine, whose editor plagiarized a freelance author’s work, and then refused to apologize. What followed was a barrage of negative press, which led to the magazine’s advertisers pulling their support, thus ending the magazine’s life.…

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Tips For Building A Mobile Business Website

tips for building mobile business websites

These days, it seems unlikely that there is still a small business owner who doesn’t use smartphones. Since the internet is more accessible now than everybody thought possible, mobility has taken on a whole new different meaning.

Our smartphones have become a bigger part of our lives than we’ve all imagined and it just makes sense then that websites are being rebuilt to be more mobile compatible. But really, how can a small business owner make their site mobile?

Inc.com published an article not too long ago on how to design and build a mobile website. Here are my take-aways:

  • Look for an online service that would enable your site to be available on a mobile version.
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Take Your Banker Out to Lunch

Starting a small business means having as many allies as possible and few allies are as important to new business owners as the banker.

build a relationship with your banker

It always pays to be on the good side of the person who has a say over whether or not your emerging business will be extended the loan it needs to get through the initial stages. Well as you might already know, it’s important to be on the good side to anybody that influences your business in any type of way.

Here’s a tip: Take your banker out to lunch and build a relationship with them.

For years, entrepreneurs and company associates have taken clients to lunch as a way to either establish a potential relationship or strengthen a rapport that had already existed.…

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